Flowers and Traditions
by RinaluffsPokemonboys
Summary: Really bad title. xD NOT Mpreg. Renzoo. somewhat AU. Children had a way of changing the way a person saw life...


I am on a Renzoo roll, babes ;D. But hiya! Another one from me so soon! This one isn't about AIDS, no worries. I've had it done for a really long time, but I got so lazy with fixing it after the beta had it. (Fanks, Ziggy!) It's become a bit of a pain. Ah well... Enjoy this, yeah? :'3 More shall come soon~

-Commence-

Yazoo would never admit it, but he always had a sort of fondness for children. Every morning, while Reno was at work, he would go for a routine walk that would lead him straight to a small park. This small park was quiet and warm, and filled with children that simply loved Yazoo. He would watch over them with a sort of silent protection, and this had made the children dub him 'Auntie Zoo'.

Today was the same as any other for the remnant. A chilly breeze rolled through the park, ruffling the leather trench coat covering his small frame. The children giggled and yelled loudly to each other as they played some sort of game where the children would run, and if they were caught by a child who was called 'it', they would be frozen to that spot until another child came and tapped their shoulder

The children had asked 'Auntie Zoo' to play with them, but the clone kindly declined. His body was built for things far more athletic than a game of 'Tag', and Yazoo felt he would've had an unfair advantage.

So Yazoo sat there, a content expression in his catlike eyes, and watched. Time ticked away, and the children collapsed into a circle, chanting a rhyme. They were all so innocent, so unaware of the world around them.

"Cute, aren't they?"

Yazoo's head jerked upwards, his hands leaving the bits of hair that he had been twisting into a braid. Beside him now was a pretty young woman, her belly round and swollen, with a baby resting in her arms. "May I sit?" she asked, gesturing with her elbow to the bench.

"Oh, of course." Yazoo's pale skin flushed lightly, and he scooted down, making room for the young mother. She sat, leaning heavily against the back. Her eyes fluttered closed, and then opened again, her hazel eyes coming to rest on the remnant.

"I'm Katniss," she said softly, smiling almost hesitantly at Yazoo. "This is Kail." Her arms lifted up enough to reveal a small tuft of brown hair from the folds of blankets.

"Yazoo." Yazoo's eyes watched the baby gently, smiling at the soft rise and fall of its breath. "Katniss...? Isn't that the Native name for an arrowhead flower?"

"Yup! How did you know that?" The mother shifted the baby.

Yazoo's eyes fell to his lap. Katniss - easy to grow, highly invasive. Clusters of white flowers, blooms mid-summer. Root is edible, common in bogs. He knew this because it was just another thing that had been pounded into his head by the scientists.

"I had... a brutal education system." Yazoo said softly, a flicker of rage flashing in his eyes. That was past him now. He was loved and happy... but the memory of sharp scientists and blank white walls would always be present in his mind.

"Would you like to hold him?"

The clone nodded, happy to have a distraction from the painful memory.

"Okay, hold your arms like this... a little lower... good!" Katniss grinned, depositing the small bundle into Yazoo's arms. "Mind his head."

Yazoo minded his head, and everything else about the baby. The red little nose and tiny hand and the little bit of drool, slipping out of the toothless mouth. All were so fragile. Never, Yazoo realized, had his hands touched something so delicate. He had been used to heavy metal and things that exploded if tilted the wrong way. But for this small moment, the child's only defense was Yazoo. Yazoo's eyes widened in alarm at the sudden thought, and tightened his grip on the bundle, bringing it to his chest. Kail mewled quietly, his small hand coming up and wrapping around his silver hair.

Katniss watched her son and the remnant, grinning. "He likes you."

Yazoo was blushing. It was a different hue than anything Reno had brought on; it was lighter, dancing across his cheekbones. He liked this feeling. Knowing that this child needed him... It was so different. "How old is he?"

"About seven months, now..." The woman counted on her fingers. "Yup, seven. And this one-" She patted her stomach with pride. "-is due in March."

Kail had taken the strands of silver hair from his small fist and stuffed them into his mouth, sucking on the soapy tasting hair.

Yazoo looked at the woman's growing stomach. "Is it a boy or a girl, do you know- Ack! No, Kail.. do not do that." The remnant shifted a hand and tugged the hair out of the small mouth. The baby's face scrunched up in discontent, with little nostrils flaring. Yazoo gave him his own finger instead. Kail slowly relaxed, gripping the big finger with five of his own.

The mother giggled. "A girl. We're gonna call her Dahlia..."

"Another flower." Yazoo smiled, recalling the large, petaled plant.

"It's a bit of a tradition in our family..." The mother fiddled with her shirt. "You don't think it's silly, do you?"

Yazoo paused, looking from Katniss, to Kail, and then to the children running about. Family traditions... That was a lovely thought. "No. It's not silly at all, Katniss." Any traditions would be lovely to Yazoo. He had never had any like that. Nothing like a pot roast dinner every Sunday, or a porcelain angel for the topper of a Christmas tree - those were all family traditions. Yazoo had never really had a family... "It's a beautiful tradition."

Katniss was now the one blushing, and she pushed a bit of hair back from her eyes. "Why thank you... I'm sure you have traditions like that too, of course..." Yazoo would've corrected her, but a figure across the park caught her eye. "Oh, there he is! That's my husband. I suppose it's time I leave, then." Katniss waved at the man, who waved back, grinning. "It was lovely to meet you, Yazoo."

"The same to you, Katniss." The remnant stood, shifting Kail to one arm. "I hope you and your children have good lives." He offered his hand to her, and helped her to her feet. "He's beautiful, you know."

"Thanks. I'm sure when you have children, they'll be just as pretty and lucky." Katniss took the boy from Yazoo's arms and walked the distance to her husband. Yazoo could only shove his hands into his pockets and smile sadly.

He wanted a family. He wanted traditions. He wanted little children to coddle and protect. But, he was in a relationship with a man who seemed to want the exact opposite. How could children come from that? Yet... his chest was still warm from where Kail had rested... Maybe he could try?

~O~

The door wasn't locked when Yazoo arrived home, confirming the man's belief that he was a tad bit late at arriving home. Normally, Yazoo would've had some sort of meal prepared for the Turk, but today he had stopped by the library, picking up a bit of information.

"Reno..?" Yazoo called out, pushing the door open and stepping inside. The kitchen was untouched, allowing the remnant to assume that he now had a very hungry redhead on his hands.

"Living room, yo~!" The familiar drawl came from his left, and after shrugging off the leather coat, Yazoo padded along the carpet and entered the brightly lit living room. Reno sat sprawled on the arm chair, suit jacket discarded, eyes closed and head back.

"Hm?" Yazoo raised an eyebrow, leaning against the door frame.

"Hey, babe." Reno lifted his head, smirking at the remnant. "Where's my goddamn dinner?"

Yazoo grinned and stepped closer to his lover. It was now or never."I don't know about dinner... but would you like a little dessert?" His voice was a purr, and the fact the comment had rolled off his tongue so nicely frightened him a little bit. But the remnant stepped closer, an alluring swagger to his hips. The swagger brought him right in front of Reno, and he hopped onto his lap, straddling him.

"Dessert?" Reno's grin grew wider, his hands going straight to the leather clad ass. "You break something of mine again, yo?"

Yazoo giggled – the manly man inside of him scoffed in disgust – and shook his head. "No..." His two hands, perfectly smooth and filed, lifted up to Reno's hair and he fingered the red locks. "Don't you want me..?" Oh _gods._

"Mm..." Reno rolled his eyes closed, leaning into the nice massage the fingers were giving his head. "I'll take ya, yo..."

Yazoo smirked and dipped his head, latching onto the soft skin on Reno's neck. Today he smelled like helicopter fuel, sweat, and the very distant scent of cinnamon.

Reno growled beneath him, trying to decide whether to push his head back into Yazoo's fingers – which were being teasingly light against his scalp – or thrust forward against him. The suckling against his neck was quickly not becoming enough for him.

"So, Reno..." Yazoo paused his actions, pulling away and inspecting the mark. His fingers continued their action, rubbing along the scalp soothingly

"Hmm?" Reno was pretty much out of it, his mouth slacking as his eyes fluttered between open and closed.

"What do you..." He dipped his head to place another kiss on the skin. "Think about babies?"

"Mmm... Babies... uhh-hmm– wait what?" Reno 's eyes blinked open, confusion written across his face.

Yazoo cursed himself for not giving Reno enough credit. "Yes. Babies. Infants. Children. Young Ones."

"Uh. They're okay, yo... why?"

Yazoo had taken his hand away from Reno's head, and was now fidgeting with his own silver strands. "Have you ever considered having a child of your own?" The remnant kept his voice cool and calm, hiding any earnest he had inside.

"Havin' kids..." Reno's confused face fell away. "Dunno. Don't think I'd be any good as a parent, yo." He looked into Yazoo's eyes. "Yaz... is something up, yo?" He had taken on that special tone - a little softer, and a little less sarcastic.

"Of course not." Yazoo's eyes flickered slightly. "Does it seem like something's up?" He cocked his head to the side, giving Reno a seemingly benign smile. "It was just a thought."

Reno sighed. "The kids at the park get to you, yo?"

Yazoo's smile fell. Damn, foiled. "Yes... and no." The clone admitted. "I met a young woman there. She seemed so excited. And her small child... he was so... fragile."

"And?"

"And I held him, Reno. I knew for one moment what it felt like to have something so small need me." A normal person would've raised their voice, nut Yazoo managed to keep it stiff and calm. Anything louder and he would begin to sound insane. Another unfortunate trait he, as a clone, had adopted. "I want to feel like that again. I liked that feeling."

Reno's lips were pursed, a common reaction to something he didn't know how to respond to. "Have you even thought about the kid, yo?" Reno asked finally, running a hand through his hair. "What'll it be like for him to have us for parents?"

"But he won't be the only one with gay parents, I'm sure–"

"That's not what I mean!" Reno nearly barked. "And it'd be a she." The remnant's eyes flickered with curiosity, but Reno made no further comment. "Look, Yaz! She'd have a clone for a mother, and me for a pa! For fuck sakes, his Grandma would be a friggin' head!" Yazoo's body stiffened, his lips disappearing into a straight line. "No! Ah... Fuck. I mean, Yazoo, half the time I come home soaked in someone else's blood. How scarring would that be for our kid?"

"Things are calming down now... being a Turk is just paper work and filing. You said so yourself."

Reno's face was buried into his hands. "No, I just... I'll turn out horrible, Yaz. I can't be a fuckin' dad! I can't even take care of myself!"

Yazoo was slowing inching off of Reno, afraid he would soon snap. "I just... maybe if we had a child..."

Reno blinked. "Uh, Yaz, you know a baby won't solve anything..."

Yazoo shook his silver head. "No, Reno. I don't just want a baby, I want a family. I want traditions and dinners. I want to be _normal._"

There. He had said it. The remnant wanted a normal life.

"When we die, what'll I be remembered as?" Yazoo asked. "A clone. A remnant. A horrible... thing that arrived on earth with the soul purpose to fawn over a dead head and bring back the man who ruined everything. That's all."

"Yaz, babe..." Reno lifted a hand and brought it to the clone's arm. "That's not true, yo."

"But it is." Yazoo insisted, but blandly. "People are afraid to just smile at me, Reno. I want to be able to pass on something good when I leave for the Lifestream. Traditions, stories... why is it always too much for us?"

Reno's hand slipped from the shoulder upwards, cupping Yazoo's cheek. "Life's a bitch, yo." He shrugged. "Listen, babe. Wait a year or so. Think this over, yo." Reno pulled the remnant's face closer. "Don't rush headlong into this. It'll be bad for us and the kid." Reno kissed Yazoo's lips. "Let's make our own traditions first. Yo?"

Yazoo's emerald cat eyes fluttered closed, and he nodded, accepting defeat for now. Reno's lips were on his again, and Yazoo sighed. Maybe slow was best. The man scooted closer again, resting against the lithe chest, suddenly exhausted from the spat. Reno just held him, remaining surprisingly silent. He may have drifted into a bit of a sleep, because the next thing he remembered was Reno nudging him.

"So uh, how about some dinner, yo?"

Yazoo grinned into the chest, and nodded. "I suppose." He raised his head. "Dinner.. but no dessert for you."

"Aw fuck, c'mon Yaz!"

Reno got plenty of dessert after dinner. He always did.

-Fin-


End file.
